Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer star as Chicago Bulls defeat Detroit Pistons 99 – 83 – NBA Recap Part 1
Plating at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Chicago Bulls took down the Detroit Pistons, 99-83.The game was in Chicago’s control pretty much from start to finish as the Pistons failed to live up to expectations of the home crowd.
The night also marked the return of Richard Hamilton to the arena for the first time after being traded to the Bulls. Hamilton, who won an NBA World Championship with the Pistons back in 2004, has played for the Detroit outfit
during the vast majority of his career and admitted that emotions ran high when he got back in the building.
"I couldn't wait for the ball to be thrown up. There were a lot of emotions earlier in the game, being on the visitor’s side. I'm not accustomed to it in this building. It was difficult. I was like, 'Don't start crying or anything
crazy like that.'"
He also remarked that it was a good feeling to receive the warm support afforded to him by Detroit fans.
"It was great," Hamilton said. "The fans appreciate what I did here, and they've always been supportive of me. Even when stuff wasn't going so good, they'd always chant my name and stuff like that. I've got a lot of love for them."
The game was easy for Hamilton as his former side failed to inspire anyone with some pretty average play. Detroit head coach Lawrence Frank admitted after the game that his side was guilty of some sloppy play.
"We had shots at the rim and shots in the paint that we couldn't convert and many of those turned into their transition opportunities."
Greg Monroe was probably the only Piston who held his own in the game. The young centre put in a strong display, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 boards for his double-double.
Jonas Jerebko had 13 points and only two other Detroit players got into double figures, that too barely.
For the Bulls, reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose was excellent once more with 17 points and 10 assists. Hamilton had 14 points and 5 assists while Carlos Boozer top scored with 19. Joakim Noah was also notable as he registered a double-double
- 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Chicago came racing out of the blocks to and were up 9 – 2 with 7:30 on the clock. They held the Pistons offence in check and used an 8 – 4 run to end the quarter on top by 22-to-14.
Detroit started the second period with a 6 – 2 burst but it proved to be a false dawn as Chicago once again established their dominance as time went by. A 9 – 2 burst near the halfway mark signified Chicago’s ability to pull away
when they wanted and the teams went into the break with the Pistons trailing, 51 – 35.
Tags: